


The Valonqar

by Northern_Lady



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Honor, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, true knights, wildfire - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-21 20:40:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7403272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>By some miracle, Margaery Tyrell survives the fire in the Sept and an unexpected Knight decides to take her home rather than let his sister kill her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Once the wildfire had finally stopped burning, Jaime joined the others who were searching the city for wounded survivors. There were heaps of rubble around the Sept and many victims had to be dug out of the mess. With each wounded person and each dead body that he pulled out of the rubble, his anger at Cersei only grew. He had only spoken to her briefly on his return. Long enough to know that she was responsible for all this destruction and for Tommen’s death. He had been too furious, too overcome with rage to trust himself to speak to her any further. Being out here trying to rescue these people that his sister had killed and injured was not helping his state of mind. It had been two days and they were still finding trapped wounded people in the wreckage. 

Jaime helped an elderly man onto the cart that was taking wounded back to the Red Keep where all the available Maesters and healers had gathered to help with the injured. He turned again to the piles of rubble and saw a scrap of fabric sticking out from among a pile of broken bricks and stones. He made his way to the pile and began moving stones off in an effort to remove enough to reach the fabric. There had been a few others who had been alive under all the rubble. This could be another. As he removed more stones he began to hear sounds of life beneath him. Whimpering, gasping for breath noises. 

“I’m going to get you out.” Jaime said. “Just hang on a little longer.” 

In a few minutes he had cleared away enough stones that he found the facedown body of a man. He wasn’t breathing. Jaime’s heart sank. He was too late. He turned over the body to see who it was. The backside was badly burned. The front of the man was recognizable. It was Ser Loras Tyrell. As he turned the body over Jaime heard an audible gasp of breath. He looked down and found Margaery Tyrell underneath her brother. She was very much alive. Loras had likely saved her life, shielding her from the blast with his body and the fact that they were buried in rubble had saved her from burning. She was bruised and battered and looked absolutely terrified. She burst into tears on seeing him and they were not tears of joy at being rescued. She probably thought he would turn her over to Cersei. He wasn’t going to do any such thing. Jaime removed the rest of the stones and Margaery struggled to climb out of the rubble, silently weeping all the while. He picked her up and carried her towards his rooms rather than the healer cart. 

“Where are you taking me?” Margaery asked worriedly. 

“I’m not taking you to Cersei. I have no intention of telling her you survived.” Jaime told her. He walked the short distance to the Red Keep and Lord Commander’s chambers. No one paid any attention to him. He placed Margaery on his bed and set to work finding bandages and salves for her injuries. 

She watched him warily. “Why are you helping me?” 

“My sister has gone mad. I’m not going to let her kill more innocent people if I can help it.” Jaime told her plainly. “I’ll see if I can find out where your grandmother has gone to and you can home once she sends an escort. It isn’t safe for you to go anywhere alone.” 

“So I’m to stay here in your rooms until then?” 

“Unfortunately yes. The Tyrell army is gone and I can’t think of anyone you might be safe with right now.” Jaime explained, tying a bandage around a cut on her arm. “I have to go back out there and help find the wounded. Keep the door locked while I’m gone.” 

“I don’t think I can walk.” She said. 

“You’ve probably broken your left leg. I’ll lock the door with the key when I go.” He said. He left a pitcher of water, a chunk of bread, and a chamber pot near the bed and then he left her to herself.

********************

By nightfall Jaime returned to his chambers utterly spent. They were finding fewer and fewer people near the day’s end, which made perfect sense because anyone left alive and trapped would have died of thirst by now. He unlocked the door to his room and went inside. Margaery startled awake on his bed at the sound. 

“It’s alright.” He said, lighting a candle. “I’ve brought food.” He went to her and passed her a small cloth sack. She took it from him and peered inside. Her eyes were red from weeping, her face and body were badly bruised and she looked more exhausted than he felt. 

“Thank you.” She said, taking a bite of the cheese and fruit he had brought. 

He nodded. “I brought this as well.” He passed her another bag containing clothes from her old chambers. 

“Thank you,” She said in almost a whisper, her hand resting on a bloodstain on her dress. Loras’ blood. That blood had probably been difficult to look at all day, 

“I’ll step out so you can change.” He said taking a step back. 

“Wait...I don’t think I actually can change. I can’t stand up for more than a few seconds and my wrist is…” She trailed off, they both knew her wrist was nearly as badly injured as her leg. 

“I can’t send for maids. Any of them could be loyal to Cersei.” Jaime said uncomfortably. 

“Then you’ll have to help me yourself.” She said. 

He crossed the room and began to untie the laces on the back of her dress. It was a process getting her out of her clothes with her injuries and his one hand but they managed it somehow. Jaime was careful to avert his eyes not to look too closely at her bare skin. Even so he couldn’t help but notice that she was covered in bruises from her ordeal. Once she was dressed in a clean dress he helped her back onto the bed and she finished her meal. Jaime was tired. He would have preferred to sleep in his own bed after such a long day but he was unwilling to put the Tyrell girl through any more discomfort. He pulled some blankets from a shelf and began to make a bed for himself on the floor. 

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor Ser.” Margaery spoke up. 

“What?” 

“The truth is, I would feel safer if you slept over here.” She said. 

“If you’re sure…” Jaime said but he didn’t wait for an answer. He was too tired to bother. He climbed into bed, kept to his own side, and fell almost immediately asleep. 

*************************

Margary hadn’t exactly been lying when she told Jaime that she felt safer if he slept nearby. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with his proximity but not because she was some innocent maiden who had never been alone with a man. It was because she didn’t quite understand why he was helping her. Her fate was in his hands. He was the only thing standing between herself and Cersei. She needed his loyalty if she hoped to survive. It was easy to play damsel in distress and be grateful to the knight who rescued her. Her words weren’t really even an act. She was grateful he had pulled her from the rubble. She was grateful that he had not yet told his sister that she had survived. And if Ser Jaime really could be trusted to keep her secret, then there was a certain safety in his nearness. The truth was she wasn’t sure if he truly could be trusted or not. 

She awoke in the morning to the sound of Ser Jaime putting on his armor. “Where is Tommen?” She asked him though some part of her knew the answer would not be good news. 

“He is gone.” Jaime said. 

Margary clamped a hand over her mouth. “She killed her own son to get to me?” The news was more troubling than she had expected. 

“I don’t know exactly how Tommen died. Cersei won’t tell me.” 

“He wasn’t in the Sept for the trial.” Margaery told him. “Cersei was late and Tommen wasn’t there at all.” 

“If he wasn’t in the Sept than something else killed him.” Jaime said, angry. 

“Or maybe…” She didn’t like to think it but it had to be true. 

“Or what?” 

“Or he killed himself.” Margaery said. 

“Gods…” Jaime looked ghostly pale. He knew it to be true just as she knew it. 

“He saw what happened to the Sept, he thought I was dead….and…” Margaery began to cry genuine tears. She had liked Tommen. She had never been in love with him but she had liked him and never wanted him to end up dead. 

“This was Cersei’s fault. I’m not going to let her hurt you. She’s done enough harm.” 

“Why does she want me dead? Why does she hate me so much?” Margaery asked. It was something she had never fully understood. 

“Jealousy, I suppose.” Jaime said, as he began pulling on his boots. 

“Are you going back out there to help all day?” Margaery asked him worriedly. She didn’t mind being alone all day but she was terrified of what would happen to her should she be discovered here all alone. 

Jaime stopped what he was doing and seemed to realize what he was doing and to realize that Margaery was not as brave as she had seemed from a distance. “I’ll only leave long enough to make preparations to leave the city.” he said. “No one seems to know where your grandmother has gone but I was able to find out that she did leave the city before the trial began. We don’t have time to wait for her to get to Highgarden. I’ll have to bring you there myself.” 

Margaery nodded. He was right, They needed to leave the city. She just wasn’t sure she could even sit a horse as injured as she was. Her leg and wrist were only the half of it. Her entire body felt bruised and broken. Even so, she refused to complain. She would do what she must to survive. 

“I will only be gone an hour or two.” Jaime said as he reached for the door. 

“Ser Jaime?” She called after him. “Have you found my father’s body out there?” 

He seemed reluctant to answer her. “I think so. Some of them are difficult to identify.” 

“Father and Loras need to be sent home to High Garden for a proper burial.” She said firmly, worried that Cersei would have them burned or buried in a mass grave. 

“They will be. I will see to it myself.” Jaime said and with that he left her. 

************************

Jaime decided against putting Margaery on her own horse for the journey. She barely had the use of her left leg and that alone was enough reason for him to believe it was safer for them to share a horse. He chose a large destrier that could carry them both as well as a minimal amount of supplies. Margaery dressed in a commoner's dress and hooded cloak. She made no complaints when he carried her out of the Red Keep to the horse he had waiting but he could see that she was in pain. He mounted the horse behind to sit behind her and they rode out of the city without anyone trying to stop them. After a few hours on horse back Jaime felt something wet on his arm. He realized Margaery was crying and her tears were falling onto his arm. He could hardly blame her for crying. She’d just lost her father and had spent two days buried alive under her dead brother. Or maybe Loras hadn’t been dead the entire time. He wasn’t about to ask her if he had been. 

“Perhaps we should stop for a rest.” Jaime suggested, not knowing what else to do. 

“No, we should keep going.” She sniffled. “More distance between us and your sister is better.” 

“Alright, but if you need to stop you’ll tell me?” 

“I will.” She agreed. 

“I sent the Lannister army ahead of us.” Jaime told her. “I didn’t want Cersei to try and take command of them. We’ll catch up to them tomorrow and they’ll help escort you home.” 

“My father sent the Tyrell army home four days ago….” Margaery said, a little hope in her tone. “I should have thought of that before…” 

“When we catch up to my men we’ll send a bird to the Tyrell men asking them to wait for us.” Jaime told her. 

By evening when Jaime stopped to make camp for the night Margaery was unable to hide her pain any longer. Jaime dismounted the horse, laid out a blanket on the grass and helped Margaery down. She cried out with pain from the movement. He set her down gently on the blanket and she was unable to hide the tears on her face. He didn’t linger near her, he went back to the horse to save her the embarrassment of him watching her cry. 

Eventually she found the strength to go and make water behind a tree. She was exhausted and barely managed a few bites of food before she fell asleep on the blanket in the ground. 

***********************

Margaery dreamed of green flames. In her dreams she struggled to breathe from the weight of stones and her dying brother crushing her. Loras had died a few hours after the blast. He had been unconscious but breathing for a long while. The fire should have killed them both. She didn’t know why she was still alive. She wasn’t sure she even wanted to be alive, She certainly didn’t want to be Queen anymore. Margaery wanted only to get as far away from Cersei Lannister and from King’s Landing as she could possibly get. In her dreams she was still there, trapped beneath her brother’s burned body. Every breath was a struggle. She smelled smoke and blood and flames. Her hand was trapped between herself and Loras and she struggled again and again to push against the weight holding her down. Then came the thirst. Two days without water, trapped beneath her dead brother was a horror she could have never imagined. 

Margaery gasped awake and sat bolt upright. Ser Jaime was awake and looked startled. It was then that she realized she had been screaming Loras’ name. “Sorry.” She said, trying to catch her breath. 

“It’s alright.” he said, as if she were a skittish horse that he meant to calm. 

Margaery’s eye caught the campfire that was burning in a circle of stones between them. She was too close to it. She tried to push herself further away but only managed a few inches before crying out with pain. She realized she probably looked like an imbecile and she didn’t have it in her to care. She had to get away from there. She tried rolling away and felt something snap in her leg. She screamed again and the sound brought Ser Jaime to her side. 

“Margaery, calm down.” He said gently, kneeling down next her. Now she was trapped between him and the fire. Panic rising in her she shoved him with her uninjured hand. He hardly moved. She tried to crawl around him and he caught her around the waist and pulled her into his lap, sitting them both on the ground. “You can’t go running off into the night.” He told her in an almost soothing tone. 

Unable to move, Margaery fought him as hard as she could. She wouldn’t be trapped again. She wouldn’t. She screamed and scratched and clawed and even tried to bite him. She would do anything to get free. Somehow he pinned her arms down tight and turned her body away from him enough that she could not bite him. Despondent, she finally gave in and burst into tears. He held on to her while she sobbed for a long while. He held her until her tears were spent and her body went limp. 

“If I let you go now will you promise not to run away?” Jaime asked her. 

“Only if you put out the fire.” She said weakly. 

“I’ll put it out right now.” He moved her to sit on the far corner of her blanket while he poured a pail of water over the fire. In the light if the dying fire she could see the scratches she had left on his neck. Once it the fire was out he settled back down on his blanket as before. 

“Ser Jaime...thank you.” Margaery said. She would be dead if not for him. She didn’t fully understand why he had turned against his sister to help her. She only knew that she needed him if she hoped to survive Cersei’s wrath. Beyond than that though, maybe she shouldn’t be running away. As terrified as the events of the last few days have left her, Margaery knew that her next move once she was safely home ought to be a move against Cersei. But what would Ser Jaime and the Lannister army do if she rewarded his aid by going after his sister?


	2. Chapter 2

Jaime woke in the morning before Margaery did. She was curled up asleep on the other side of the extinct fire and even in her sleep she still looked frightened. He didn’t want to wake her. It would only mean she’d have to remember everything she had lost. He was still dealing with loss himself. He had barely known Tommen but now he never could know him. Uncle Kevan had been in the Sept as well. So many people had died. And all of that was Cersei’s fault. All those people burned and mutilated so that she could have revenge and gain power. Had she always been such a monster? Had he always been blind to what she was or had the recent walk of punishment made her snap? He didn’t know the answer to that. He didn’t want to know what she would do to Margaery if she discovered that she had survived. He only knew he had to help her. He had to do something to stop his sister from tearing the kingdoms apart further. Getting Margaery home to Highgarden was the first step. 

Jaime put his hand on Margaery’s shoulder to wake her. She woke with a start. Her eyes met his and she struggled to compose herself. He passed her some cold food and a skin of wine. “We’ll need to get going soon. I’ll help you up when you’re ready.” 

She ate slowly and in silence. Jaime helped her to get herself behind a tree and left her to relieve herself. When she was finished he picked her up and put her on the horse. 

“I am sorry Ser about last night.” She said as they set off. 

“There’s nothing to apologize for..” He said gently. 

“I scratched you hard enough that you’ve bandaged your neck.” She said, sounding sorry for it. 

“You were too frightened to know what you were doing.” Jaime said. “I don’t blame you for that. I should have realized the fire was a bad idea.” 

“I didn’t know it would be. I was never bothered by fire before and the fire in the Sept was green. The campfire shouldn’t have mattered.” Margaery said.  
“Fire is fire.” Jaime said. “I won’t make a campfire tonight. When we catch up to the Lannister men I’ll see to it that they keep fires away from you. I won’t have much say over what the Tyrell forces do. I imagine you’ll be happy to see some familiar faces among them.” 

Margaery nodded. “I should be seeing familiar faces soon enough. Willas had hoped to make it to King’s Landing in time for the trial. He was held up in Highgarden due to some dispute among the bannermen. Garlan is with his wife’s family. She had a difficult childbirth and didn’t want to leave her mother’s care. If we’re lucky, Willas will meet us on the road in the next few days.” 

“I wondered where they had gotten off too. I did send word to Highgarden when I was looking for your grandmother but apparently your steward didn’t want to give any details on their whereabouts to a Lannister.” Jaime explained. “Which is perfectly understandable I suppose.” 

“No it really isn’t.” Margaery said. “Our steward at Highgarden can’t possibly have known what happened at the sept when you wrote to him. The Lannisters and Tyrells have long been allies. There was really no call to be secretive.” 

Jaime sighed. “Your steward wasn’t mistrusting of Lannisters. He was mistrusting of the Kingslayer. Long ago I forsook my vows and slew a king. That means I am not be trusted in anything, you know?” 

“Why did you kill the king?” Margaery asked. The question surprised him. It wasn’t something people ever asked him. 

“Because all that wildfire under the city was put there on his orders. He meant to burn the whole city. Not just the sept, but the entire city. His last orders were that I bring him my father’s head and he ordered his pyromancers to burn the city.” Jaime explained bitterly. “ I broke my vows and I killed my king to prevent the very thing that my sister just went and did.” 

Margaery seemed to be a loss for words and now that he was thinking again about what Cersei had done, Jaime found that he didn’t have anything more to say either. 

************************

As she listened to Ser Jaime’s explanation for killing the Mad King, Margaery realized that she wasn’t the only one hurting because of what Cersei had done. She should have noticed it before. He was mourning as well. He was mourning the loss of Tommen and his Uncle Kevan. He likely mourning the end of a relationship with his lover. She held no illusions about what Jaime and Cersei had been to each other. Ser Jaime was the father of Cersei children and she had known that from the beginning and had never cared that it was the truth. She hadn’t cared because that truth hadn’t stopped her from gaining power. Now, the knowledge that he was on the verge of hating his sister as much as he had loved her was useful to Margaery. She knew how to use that to her advantage. She knew how to manipulate most men but she still wasn’t sure she wanted to anymore. She wanted to go home. She wanted to be with Willas and Garlan and Grandmother. She didn’t want to fight for power. Yet she knew she must. If she didn’t fight Cersei then Cersei would kill her. She had to see to it that Ser Jaime stayed on her side until it was done. 

They rode for a long way in silence before Margaery spoke up again. Her leg was throbbing and she needed a chance to straighten it out for a time. “Might we stop for a short while Ser?” 

“We can.” He pulled the horse to a stop and helped her down after he had gotten down himself. 

When her feet touched the ground she purposely clung to him a little longer than strictly necessary. “Thank you.” She said, her eyes meeting his. 

Jaime’s eyes narrowed as if her were suspicious of her behavior but he said nothing. He simply held her arm and helped her over to sit on a fallen log. He disappeared behind a tree for a short time then returned and sat next to her on the log. 

A twig snapped somewhere nearby, the sound of a small animal in the bushes and Margaery grabbed Ser Jaime’s arm. “You don’t suppose your sister has sent someone after us?” She asked him worriedly. Margaery truly was worried about that possibility but she didn’t expect that they were caught just yet. She simply needed to take this opportunity to appeal to her rescuer for protection. 

“I doubt she knows where I’ve gone. She certainly doesn’t know you survived.” Jaime said reassuringly. “But if she does figure it out she’ll have to go through me to get to you. If she hasn’t gone entirely mad then she’ll hesitate to do that.” 

She nodded. She thought about asking him what had made the noise they’d just heard but decided against it. He wouldn’t appreciate it if she were too frightened or too clingy. She had to be a damsel in just enough distress that he felt needed but not so much distress that she became a nuisance. Instead she simply held on to his arm as if she needed his support. It wasn’t entirely an act. She did need him. 

***********************

Jaime couldn’t help but notice the way Margaery leaned just a little closer to him as they resumed their journey on horseback. Any other time and he might have been annoyed with her behavior. He was used to women taking notice of him and trying to get his attention. He ordinarily managed to avoid the attentions of women by reminding them of his vows or redirecting them to Bronn or even ignoring them completely. He found he didn’t want to ignore Margaery. At least not entirely. It helped to have someone to hold on to as he rode. Her presence, the fact that she needed him to get her away from Cersei was the one thing keeping him on solid ground. He just kept trying to focus on his task, on this young woman who needed him. It was easier than thinking about his bitch of a sister. 

They came over the rise of a hill and saw the Lannister army camped out below. He heard Margaery catch her breath at the sight. “Are you sure they are loyal to you and not Cersei?” Margaery asked and her tone held genuine worry. 

“I’m sure.” Jaime said, “You’re perfectly safe, I swear it.” 

He felt her breathing relax as they approached the camp and no one but Ser Daven Lannister came out to meet them. 

“We prepared a tent for Queen Margaery like you asked.” Daven said. “The men are ready to travel to Highgarden whenever you say. There’s been hardly a complaint about not going home yet. We’re happy to take the lady home.” 

Jaime was thankful that Daven could read people so well. He had seen Margaery’s worries displayed on her face and he had said what was needed to reassure her. 

“Thank you Ser.” Jaime answered. “If you show me to her tent, the lady can rest and I can attend a few other matters. We need to send a message to the Tyrell army. They are only a few days march ahead of us.” 

“Follow me.” Daven said and Jaime set his horse to follow Daven. 

Margaery’s tent was in the center of the encampment where should would be safe from any enemies. Jaime helped her down from the horse and carried her inside. He placed her on the bed and found that she looked a little uncomfortable with being left alone. 

“I’ll see if I can find some women amongst the camp who can help you bathe and change.” Jaime said as he backed away. There had to be camp followers somewhere. There always were. 

“Wait?” She called out after him. He stopped. “How will I find you later? Will you come back?” 

“I’ll come back in a few hours.” He said and this time he really did leave. 

*****************************

Margaery was glad for a bath. Jaime had sent three camp follower women to help her. They had never been maids before. That much was obvious but he must have paid them well because they didn’t complain at all about the work. Once she was bathed, changed, and back in bed, the women left her alone. She didn’t like being alone. There were too many similarities with being trapped. Though with her leg in the shape it was, she essentially was trapped. She tried not to think about that. She tried to think about happy things. It didn’t help. By the time Jaime returned to her she was gasping for breath and panicked. 

Jaime came to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Margaery?” He asked. 

She knew he was there and yet she didn’t. Some part of her mind was still trapped beneath a pile of rubble, unable to breathe, unable to move. 

Jaime sat on the edge of the bed and looked into her eyes. “”Margaery, you’re not there anymore.” He said firmly. “You’re not there. You’re safe here. Just breathe slowly.” 

It was a struggle to listen to him but she made an effort to breathe more slowly. She finally got in a few normal breaths, then she spoke entirely without thinking. “Please don’t leave me alone again.” 

“I won’t.” He said agreeably. “I’ll stay with you as much as I can and when I can’t, you won’t be alone. Tonight I’ll make a bed on the floor of the tent, alright?” 

She nodded a little surprised at herself. She was ordinarily very independent. She knew how to play damsel in distress when it suited her but only recently had the distress been genuine and for the first time that she could ever remember, she actually wanted a knight to guard her. It was strange to admit to herself that she actually wanted Ser Jaime nearby because he made her feel safe. Not safe from Cersei in this instance but safer from loneliness and nightmares and memories.


	3. Chapter 3

Jaime woke up the next morning to Devan Lannister entering the tent. 

“Forgive the intrusion my lady,” Devan said, then he turned to Jaime who had just gotten to his feet. “Willas Tyrell just arrived at the camp Ser. He doesn’t seem to be aware that his sister is here. He’s asking to see you. He’s very angry.” 

“I want to see my brother.” Margaery spoke up before Jaime could answer. 

“Bring him here. It would be the easiest explanation just to bring him anyway.” Jaime said. He could imagine that word of what had happened in the capital had reached most of the kingdom by now. Willas believed his sister dead and if he suspected Cersei was responsible for the fire, he would see Jaime as an enemy. Only seeing Margaery alive and well could solve that dilemma. 

Minutes later Devan threw aside the tent flap and Willas entered the tent. Jaime had never met the man. He carried a well made cane and walked with a distinct limp. Willas had the curly brown hair and hazel eyes of the rest of the Tyrells. His look of shock and disbelief stopped him from going any further. 

“Margaery?” Willas said with disbelief. 

Margaey reached for him and he crossed the rest of the distance between them and hugged her, sitting on the edge of her bed to do so. “I heard you were dead. What are you doing here with the Lannister men?” 

She didn’t answer him. She was crying too much to be able to speak. 

“We’re taking her home.” Jaime answered for her. 

Willas turned a little to face Jaime without letting his sister go. “Why does she need an army to bring her home? I heard that your sister was crowned Queen. It sounds as though my sister is a Lannister prisoner.” He said, still angry. 

“Those are brave words coming from a man armed with only a cane.” Jaime said, not liking the man’s ungratefulness. He had just gotten his sister back alive. He should be less antagonistic. 

“Better a cane than a golden hand.” Willas shot back at him. 

“Willas!” Margaery scolded her brother. “Ser Jaime saved my life. I was buried alive under the rubble when the Sept burned, under rubble and under Loras.” She told him. “I was trapped there for two days. He pulled me out of there and he tended my wounds and kept his sister from knowing that I survived.” 

“So Margaery isn’t a prisoner?” Willas asked Jaime warily. 

“No, she isn’t. Though I must ask, if you suspected that the Lannisters were now your enemies, what possessed you to march straight into the middle of our encampment?” Jaime asked. 

“I’m not unarmed. I planned to kill you.” Willas said. 

“To avenge us?” Margaery asked him. 

He nodded. “Yes, to avenge you, little sister, and Father and Loras, or die trying.” 

“I’m afraid you would have died trying. You are surrounded here.” Jaime pointed out. “I can’t blame you for wanting blood though.” 

“No, the Tyrell forces are just a mile away. I met them on the road and brought them with me.” Willas said. “I probably would have died but a lot of your men would have died with me.” 

“I must say it was a brave plan. “Jaime said, “Stupid, but brave.” 

“So tell me, if I want to take my sister with me and rejoin the Tyrell forces right now, you’ll let us go?” Willas asked, ignoring Jaime insult. 

“I will.” Jaime said sadly. He didn’t know why it should make hims so sad. 

Margaery looked a little hesitant but she allowed her brother to pick her up and carry her out of the tent. He tucked his cane under his arm and was forced to limp with every step but he carried her all the same. Jaime followed close behind. 

“I’ll be following you to Highgarden with the Lannister men.” Jaime told him. 

“For what purpose?” Willas asked. 

“For the purpose of letting my sister know that she hasn’t won yet.” Jaime said. 

Willas stopped and turned to face him. “You truly have turned against your sister?” He asked. 

“I have.” Jaime said. It was a bitter truth but it was the truth nonetheless. 

Willas sighed. “Good. Then you are welcome to follow us.” 

“Willas wait.” Margaery said as her brother turned away again. “I need to speak to him.” 

He nodded set his sister on her feet. She balanced most of her weight on good leg and Jaime lent her his arms for support. Willas moved towards his horse and waited for her. 

“I want to thank you, for everything.” She said. 

“You are most welcome, my lady.” He told her. He was sad to see her go. She wouldn’t be far away but it was as if he was passing his mission on to her brother rather than completing it himself. 

“Will you join Willas and I for dinner tonight?” She asked him. “I know he’ll want to thank you too, once he realizes all that you’ve done.” 

“Of course.” He agreed, unsure why. He didn’t like formal dinners and he wasn’t sure he liked Willas Tyrell just yet but he didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes if he said no. She graced him with a smile and he picked her up and carried her to her brother’s horse.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. I've been having computer technical problems. I hope to be back and spend more time on this story once my computer gets fixed.

It was good to see Willas again. It had been nearly three years since she’d seen him last. She had never known him to be so reckless as he had been that day. Willas had always been more reserved and contemplative than that. What had happened at the Sept must have shaken him more than anything else ever had. It had certainly shaken her. She told him the details of what had happened as they rode. 

“It was good of Ser Jaime to bring you this far.” Willas said as they rode. “Perhaps in a few days he can be convinced to return to Casterly Rock.” 

“You still don’t trust him?” Margaery asked. 

“Do you?” 

“Yes, I think he does mean to help us.” Margaery said. 

“It doesn’t make sense that he would suddenly turn against his sister like this.” Willas said. 

“You didn’t see the city. If you had seen the destruction....only a monster could support the person who caused all that. Ser Jaime isn’t a monster.” Margaery said. 

“No, I suppose not. Primrose liked him well enough. She’s a smart mare, one of the most intelligent horses I have.” Willas said. He was always going on about his horses. “She met Lothar Frey two years ago and stepped on his foot. For Ser Jaime just now she did nothing but flick her tail and ignore him.” 

“Is that how you plan on making all your military decisions now that you’re the head of House Tyrell? Check with your horse first?” Margaery teased him. 

“Of course not.” Willas said only slightly annoyed. “The hawks get a vote too.” 

Margaery laughed, her first genuine laugh in a long while. Willas had always been able to make her laugh. 

“I invited Ser Jaime to join us for dinner tonight.” Margaery told her brother. 

“So that’s your play? To charm him into staying on our side?” Willas said good naturedly. “I don’t doubt your beauty or that grandmother has taught you well, but I don’t think it will work in this case.” 

“Why not? He isn’t immune to me, I know it.” Margaery said, a little defensive for some reason. 

“Of course he isn’t. Few men are. But you were married to his son. That alone will make him keep his distance.” He said. 

“I don’t think familial relationships matter all that much to him. You do have a point though. I’m supposed to be in mourning. In truth, I am in mourning. I liked Tommen. He had so much potential. His loss saddens me but I mourn Father and Loras more. Perhaps I’m not thinking clearly where Jaime Lannister is concerned.” Margaery admitted. 

“I don’t think you are. Not at all. I saw the way you looked at him. It was like Dickon Tarly all over again.” Willas said. 

“It was not!” Margaery protested. “Besides, that was a long time ago. It’s not fair to bring it up now.” 

“I’m sorry. You’re right it wasn’t fair. After everything you’ve been through it makes sense that you might take a little comfort from the man who rescued you.” Willas said. “I ought not to have mentioned it.” 

“That’s not what happened.” Margaery said. 

“Marg, I know that Grandmother told you that a woman never needs to powerless to the whims of a man. I know she thinks that romance is never real, just something that makes a woman too weak and too stupid to make her own decisions...but Grandmother isn’t right about everything. There’s no wrong in caring for a man for no other reason than just because you like him. I hope that when the time is right, you will allow yourself to do that.” Willas said. 

“I don’t know if I can.” Margaery said. 

Willas hugged her from where he sat behind her on the horse. “Just give yourself time to heal.” He said. 

Margaery found that there were tears in her eyes. Not because her brother’s words upset her. At least not entirely, but because she realized that his hug, though safe and comforting, did not stir up the same feelings in her that Ser Jaime’s touch had. Willas was right. She did like Ser Jaime. It had better not turn out like Dickon Tarly all over again this time. She wouldn't allow that to happen.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Jaime had spent all day riding with the rest of his men, then taken the time set up a new encampment alongside the Tyrell forces, he really wasn’t feeling up to a dinner that included Willas Tyrell. Not unless the man had decided to be a little more pleasant since their last meeting. He made his way to the tent that he knew Willas and Margaery would be in. 

Willas greeted him civilly and Margaery smiled as he sat down across from her. All the courtesies and expected words were exchanged, including Willas thanks for the aid that Jaime gave to Margaery. Once that was done, Willas steered the conversation to the topic of horses and while Jaime joined in, Margaery absently played with the food on her plate. The few times Jaime had seen Margaery before the incident at the Sept, had always been at a feast or a dinner. And she had always been more charismatic than this. She was probably thinking about Loras and her Father. He could not blame her for being sad. It made him angry to think about it still. Then Jaime realized that Willas had stopped talking and was gazing at the way he was staring at Margaery. She hadn’t even noticed either of them. She was listless as she pushed the food on her plate around with a fork. 

“Marg? Are you alright?” Willas asked her. 

She was a little startled by his voice. She looked up at her brother, tears in her eyes. “Sorry, maybe I’d best go to bed now.” She reached for a crutch that had been leaning against her chair and got to her feet. 

Willas got to his feet as well. “It’s a bit of a walk to your tent, are you sure you don’t want some help?” 

“I’m fine.” She said, sounding shaken. 

“Allow me to walk with you, my lady?” Jaime asked her. She shouldn’t go alone, not in her current state, and Willas had his own problems with walking. Besides, he had told her he wouldn’t leave her alone. 

She seemed a little surprised by the offer but quickly recovered. “Of course. Thank you.” 

She seemed as if she was able to be mobile enough with the help of the crutch. It had probably been Willas idea to give her a crutch. He wasn’t so bad when he wasn’t angry. 

“I think we’ve passed your tent.” Jaime said. He was aware of the pattern of the encampment. Margaery’s tent should not have been this far away. 

“I’m not going to my tent.” She said. 

“Then where are we going?” he asked her. 

“To that log over there.” She said. 

In the darkness ahead Jaime could see a large fallen log. He walked with Margaery there and sat next to her on the fallen log. They sat in silence for a short while before Margaery finally spoke up. 

“Did you miss attending Tommen’s funeral by bringing me here?” She asked somberly. 

“It’s alright. It was more important that you survive than that I be there.” Jaime said. 

She shook her head. “But he was your son. You should have been there.” 

Jaime wasn’t surprised that Margaery knew the nature of his relationship with Cersei. There was no sense in denying it at this point. “Tommen would have wanted you to live.” 

“He would have. I wasn’t a very good wife to him, I’m afraid.” She said sadly. 

“Why would you think that? He seemed to care about you a great deal.” Jaime said. 

“I didn’t marry him for love…” 

“I know that.” Jaime said. Margaery was a woman interested in power. That wasn’t difficult for anyone to deduce. She had been married to Renly and to Joffrey before Tommen. Her motivations were clear. “But you must have come to care for him a little or he wouldn’t have felt as he did about you.” 

“I knew how to say the right things, that’s all. That’s why he cared for me.” Margaery said, she was crying now. “He deserved better.” 

“Maybe he did, but from what I could see, he was happy with you. There’s no reason to feel guilty for what’s in the past.” Jaime told her. 

“Then what about the future? How do I stop manipulating people?” She said in what was almost a sob. 

“I don’t know. Why would you want to in the first place? Is power truly that important to you?” Jaime asked her. 

“It’s really about power.” She said. “It’s about not being powerless.” 

“I’m not sure I understand.” Jaime said. 

“When I was ten years old, my grandmother took over my education. She said that teaching girls how to sew and how to smile was a waste of time. What I needed to learn was how to get by in the world. She planned to see to it that no grand daughter of hers was ever powerless to the whims of a husband or to any man. She taught what to say, how to act, so that no one would ever truly be in control of me...and all this time I believed I was doing the right thing... I was trying to help people as queen...to feed the poor and needy… and I was never unkind to Tommen...but I was never truly free to be myself either. Being trapped all that time… I don’t care about power anymore. I just want to live.” Margaery said still crying. 

Jaime leaned a little closer and put his arm around her. He had seen women cry fake tears before. Margaery seemed to be genuine. He sat with her for a while until she stopped weeping. 

“It’s getting late. Let me take you back to your tent?” he asked her. She nodded and he picked her up and carried her to the tent that belonged to her. 

“You promised you wouldn’t leave me alone.” She reminded him when he set her on her feet just outside the door and passed her the crutch. 

“You want me to stay?” 

She nodded, her eyes pleading. “Would you?” 

“I will, just let me get some blankets and come right back.” He said. 

She smiled and reached up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you.” 

As Jaime walked away to get blankets he couldn’t stop thinking about the place on his cheek where her lips had touched his skin.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a little easier to sleep that night with Jaime on the ground in Margaery’s tent. Willas would tease her about it later but she didn’t even care about that. All that mattered was that Jaime was nearby. She needed him. She hated to admit it. Willas would keep her safe if she needed help and Margaery knew that. They were surrounded by the Tyrell forces. Cersei could not get to her here. And If Margaery had nightmares, her brother would be there for her. He was just over in the next tent. Even so, she felt more at peace to have Jaime near. She couldn’t explain why and she wasn’t sure she really wanted to analyze it too much anyway. It was too soon after becoming a widow to admit that she felt anything for any man, especially for the father of her dead husband. Instead she just tried to focus on going to sleep. 

Margaery expected she might have nightmares again that night but it was Jaime who awoke with a start. His nightmares were not like hers. He just sat there on the floor catching his breath. 

“Are you alright Ser?” Margaery asked him. She knew that she shouldn’t ask. At least not according to her grandmother’s rules. A man wouldn’t want to admit to a woman that he had a nightmare or that anything might scare him. But in spite of that, she was curious about what might possibly frighten the kingslayer. 

“I’m fine.” He said, “I’m sorry I woke you.” 

“I suppose you have as much reason for nightmares as I do.” Margaery said, hoping he would talk to her about it. 

“I don’t have these dreams often.” Jaime said. “Sometimes I go weeks without them.” 

“Sometimes Willas still has dreams of that tourney with Oberyn Martell when his leg was ruined. He wouldn’t want me to tell you that. I think anything we lose is bound to haunt our dreams for a long time.” Margaery said. 

“It wasn’t about the loss of my hand this time, though sometimes I do dream of that too. It was the mad king...he was shouting burn them all...and when I stabbed him, he wasn’t Aerys anymore, he was Cersei.” Jaime told her. 

“Do you want to kill your sister?” Margaery asked him warily. 

“I am furious with her, I don’t think she is the rightful queen or even a good queen, but no, I don’t want to kill her.” Jaime said. 

“So what are you going to do?” She asked, “After you take me home?” 

“I don’t know. As far as I can see, the rightful ruler of the seven kingdoms is a Baratheon bastard or a Targaryen woman somewhere in Essos. Cersei has no place on the iron throne but she will rally the crownland houses to fight for her all the same...I don’t want another war. The kingdoms have seen enough war…” Jaime said. 

“But if there is a war...what side will you choose?” Margaery asked him worriedly. 

“I don’t need to decide that right now. I only need sleep right now.” Jaime said. 

“You’re not going to sleep so well on the ground. Come up here. The bed is plenty large enough for two people.” She said, really just wanting him closer. 

“If I did, your brother might actually make good on his threat to kill me.” Jaime said. 

“He wouldn’t. Willas doesn’t make my decisions for me. It will be fine. Just come up here and sleep.” She said with a smile. 

Without a word, Jaime got up and joined her in the bed. Once he was settled Margaery reached over and held his hand tightly. It helped to touch someone, to touch him. Soon they both fell asleep. 

*************************************

Just after breakfast the next morning Jaime was just getting ready to mount his horse and set out for the day when Willas Tyrell approached him. 

“He’s a fine horse.” Willas said, resting most of his weight on his cane as he appraised Jaime’s horse. “What’s his name?” 

“Honor,” Jaime replied. 

“Ironic choice of a name.” Willas said. 

“Why, because the kingslayer has no honor?” Jaime asked. 

“No. because Margaery’s horse is named Glory.” Willas said, “She’s a mare of similar confirmation.” 

“Oh, well it’s a common enough name.” Jaime said. 

“The question is, do you and Honor, and all your men plan to follow us all the way to Highgarden or will you head west for Casterly Rock?”

“You still don’t trust me.” Jaime stated. 

“I trusted you enough to be in the same tent as my sister last night.” Willas said. 

“As her shield, nothing more.” Jaime said. 

“I know that. What I don’t know is which side you will choose when Danaerys Targaryen reaches Blackwater Bay.” Willas said. “I recieved a bird from my grandmother in Dorne. She spoke to Varys. Danaerys Targaryen is on her way to Westeros with a fleet of ships and three very large dragons. House Tyrell plans to declare for a new Queen as does Dorne. What will house Lannister do?” 

Jaime hesitated. He already told Margaery that Danaerys was the rightful queen and his sister was not fit to be Queen. “I killed her father. I don’t know that swearing fealty would be enough.” 

“I thought you might say that. My grandmother wants your sister dead. The new queen, should she succeed will likely want you dead. So I have a proposal to make.” Willas said. 

“I can guess what it is. You want Cersei dead. You want me to offer my sister in exchange for the backing of House Tyrell.” Jaime said somewhat bitterly. 

“She killed my brother and my father, injured my sister and killed countless others. She doesn’t deserve the throne. She doesn't even have any royal blood. I would go after her myself but a Tyrell would never be allowed anywhere near the throne room after everything that has happened. You could walk right in without anyone asking questions. Give me your sister and I will put her in a dungeon at Highgarden. No one will be allowed to harm her there, not the Targaryen woman or my grandmother. But she will never be free to hurt anyone ever again. Do this and House Tyrell will not allow the new queen to execute you. We will stand with the Lannisters and swear fealty to her on the condition that you live. You did save my sister’s life after all and that means a great deal. But you need to end what your sister started. Refuse, and House Tyrell will be your new enemy.” Willas said firmly. 

Jaime felt sick. He knew he had little choice but to accept Willas offer. It wasn’t just his life at stake but all the Lannister men who served him. He had meant it when he said he didn’t want another war. “Do you expect me to do this right away?” He asked through gritted teeth. 

“We’re only a few days ride from King’s Landing. Take one day to think about it. If you go tomorrow we’ll wait for you here.” Willas said. “The Targaryen troops will arrive in a matter of weeks. It needs to be done now to prove our loyalty before Danaerys even gets here.” And with that Willas walked away from him.


End file.
